Justice News

Plea Agreement Requires Defendant to Serve 17 Year Prison Sentence

ALBUQUERQUE – Lindsey Joe Brown, II, 40, of Farmington, N.M., pled guilty this morning to methamphetamine trafficking and firearms charges under a plea agreement that requires him to serve a17 year prison sentence. The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales, District Attorney Rick P. Tedrow for the 11 th Judicial District of the State of New Mexico in San Juan County, Special Agent in Charge Dennis A. Ulrich, II, of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso, Texas, and Lt. Neil Haws, Director of the Region II Narcotics Task Force.

Brown was indicted in March 2012 and charged with participation in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and using a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime. According to the indictment, Brown committed these crimes in San Juan County, N.M., in Oct. 2011. Brown was arrested on April 5, 2012, and has been in federal custody since that time.

This morning, Brown pled guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and the firearms offense. In his plea agreement, Brown admitted that, on Oct. 26, 2011, he agreed to sell methamphetamine to a person who unbeknownst to him was working as an informant. Law enforcement officers conducted surveillance as Brown drove from Farmington to Cuba, N.M., where he purchased methamphetamine from his supplier. While Brown was traveling back to Farmington, the officers obtained a search warrant for Brown’s 2009 Ford Mustang. When the officers executed the search warrant, they found a box in the Mustang’s trunk that contained more than 200 grams of methamphetamine. In the center console of the Mustang, the officers found a fully loaded .9 mm semi-automatic pistol and other .9 mm ammunition. Brown was arrested on state charges, which were later dismissed after Brown was arrested on federal charges.

Under the terms of his plea agreement, Brown has agreed to forfeit the Mustang used to transport the methamphetamine and the firearm and ammunition found in the vehicle.

11th Judicial District Attorney Rick P. Tedrow said, “The assistance provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office has provided San Juan County a great benefit in allowing our agencies to coordinate strengths and remove dangerous offenders from our communities. It is our hope to continue working together with prosecutors from our office, the prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s office, and all our law enforcement agencies and keep moving forward toward our common goal of safe communities in this State.”

“The message to drug traffickers is clear: Make no mistake. HSI is working aggressively with our state and local law enforcement partners to reduce drug trafficking activity in New Mexico,” said Dennis A. Ulrich, Special Agent in Charge of HSI El Paso. “And our alliance is strengthened by our commitment to public safety and border security.”

“I want to thank HSI and the U.S. Attorney's Office for their continued partnership with Region II and local agencies in San Juan County,” said Lt. Neil Haws, Director of Region II Narcotics Task Force. “Lindsey Brown was a major methamphetamine supplier to our area, and this prison sentence will ensure that he will not be selling drugs in our community for a long time. It is also a reminder to other local drug dealers that we have State and Federal partners in our efforts to investigate drug trafficking organizations and their members and that we will aggressively pursue and prosecute them for their crimes.

In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales commended the 11th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, HSI and the Region II Narcotics Task Force for their work in this cooperative investigation and prosecution. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lynn W.Y. Wang is prosecuting the case for the government and Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia L. Weisman is handling the forfeiture proceedings.